Devil Makes Three, The

Dark academia with a library setting? Sign me up. Atmospheric and creepy and lush and surprisingly gory.

Seductive demons, dark academia vibes, a soft boy/sharp girl romance, and a perfectly spooky atmosphere... THE DEVIL MAKES THREE has everything I've ever wanted in a book.

4.5 stars

what a brilliantly dark and perfectly atmospheric dark academia read! I honestly adored just about every bit of this story.

I truly love both of our main characters. Tess is a cellist who feels a lot of things and doesn’t know how to process all those feelings (which is a little trope in characters that I adore). She’s incredibly protective over her sister and ambitious and headstrong. Eliot is troubled little Brit unwilling living in the states who is, *surprise*, also a witch.
Together, they accidentally invite none other than the devil into their realm.

First of all, their dynamic was absolutely incredible. They had chemistry from the start and their banter made me smile. They also had some hilarious encounters. The author truly took the time to develop their romance which was super important to me. It was very well done and it gave you all the time to deeply care for our protagonists and to watch their feelings grow for each other.

One of the strongest parts of this book is the incredibly well depicted atmosphere. It’s dark and eerie and slightly spooky and you feel these things around you as you read.

One last thing to add, this is a YA novel that didn’t feel too young, which I can greatly appreciate. This will easily be enjoyed by older and younger readers.

I absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys dark academia atmospheric spooky reads with a sweet romance. Add this to your tbr’s!!

Told in alternating voices between Tess and Eliot, both outsiders in their own way. Tess is a scholarship away from financial disaster for both herself and her sister. Eliot’s father is the headmaster but their relationship is tense and complicated. Together, Eliot and Tess explore the hidden collection of the school library to discover some texts of magical possibility and release the devil himself.

A story set at a boarding school in Pittsburgh featuring the power of a library and ancient, secret texts. A story where the characters talk of magic not being real yet seek its power anyway. A fun, fast, creepy “watch over your shoulder” read. It begins like a reimagining of Inkheart and feels light and breezy until the 50% mark. Once the incorporeal manifestation of the devil works to harm Tess and delivers a dead body to Eliot, things get real dark, real fast and reading becomes propulsive. Devil Makes Three provides romantic tension without being a romance novel and delivers a strong, though flawed, heroine in Tess who must ultimately save herself and those around her. This fantastically visual book reads like a movie and is the propulsive, creeptastic read you will want to have on hand for your October Horror Readfest.

Horrific. Romantic. Gory. Touching. Somehow this book managed to be all these things and more—a thrill ride full of beautiful moments and frightening sequences that I couldn’t read in the dark. So very well done.

Deliciously creepy and haunting. Finally a YA not scared to hold back on the gore to provide real horror and add to the high stakes. I can't resist books set in a library. Add in a demon, likeable protagonists, and intriguing plot - I couldn't put it down.